This invention relates to a license management for a program installed in a storage system.
In a computer system that includes one or more storage systems, a program on a storage system base (referred to as storage system program hereinafter) is installed in each storage system. Such a storage system program is a program that executes, for example, creation/deletion of a logical volume, migration/relocation of data, control of host access to the logical volume, or, remote or local copying.
A license structure of such a storage system program (i.e., concept of an application target of the storage system program) may vary from one program to another. For example, one storage system program requires a license to be obtained for every storage system that has the storage system program installed therein, while another storage system program requires only one license to be obtained for a plurality of storage systems.
The license structure may vary depending on a disk capacity to which the storage system program is applied. For example, the license structure includes a flat capacity rate plan which charges a flat rate if a capacity of a logical volume to which the storage program is applied is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and an as-used capacity rate plan which charges by an amount equal to a used capacity.
To manage the licenses, JP 2004-234559 A discloses a method of checking settings of each license and controlling execution of the program.
In addition, known examples of measures for managing data of a computer system include a method for migration of data as disclosed in JP 2001-337790 A. The migration refers to migration of data from one logical volume to another logical volume. The migration is executed to realize load balance or data lifecycle management (DLCM). For example, the load balance is averaging of a disk usage or a path usage. On the other hand, according to the DLCM, for example, when a value of data changes with a passage of time, the data is migrated to a storage system of costs suitable for the value.
Conventionally, the migration has been executed in one storage system. In other words, when disk drives different in performance, capacity, or the like are mixed together in one storage system, the data is migrated to the optimal disk drive (to be specific, logical volume composed of the optimal disk drive).
However, when the computer system includes a plurality of storage systems, data needs to be migrated among the plurality of storage systems. Such migration between the storage systems is also called migration between nodes.